Meet the Team - Morgan
by InfernoMorgaine
Summary: Morgan Marlow decides that after 8 years with the same team, it is time to start anew before she takes on the Hoenn League again. Basically, just a way to get into the character more. OC centric, AU
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one – Preparing for a New Adventure

So, it is finally time to resume my writing and I figured that starting out like this would be the easiest way for me to get into Morgan's character.

One thing I'd like to address is that I picked my favorite Pokémon for Morgan's team. And yes, they are probably cliché Pokémon, but I don't care about that. These Pokémon have managed to worm their way in my heart and they deserve a bit of love from me for all that we have been through.

Now, without further ado, here is the first chapter of Meet the Team – Morgan.

* * *

"Morgan, are you awake yet? Your father and you have a meeting with the breeder in an hour, please make sure that you are up and about in 15 minutes. Preferably in normal clothes and not your pajama's," Valerie Marlow yelled trying to wake her youngest daughter, Morgan, who had recently returned home from journeying in Kalos and Johto.

"I am already up and ready to go, mom." Morgan was standing next to her mother, her shoes in hand, backpack already on her back. Valerie swallowed a scream at the sudden appearance of her daughter, who was snickering at the reaction.

"Just put on your shoes and I will tell your father that it is time to leave," Valerie sighed before walking into the living room to give some last instructions to her husband about what had to be done at the contest hall today.

Morgan just sat down on the stairs and pulled on her shoes. It never got old to scare her mother like that. She wasn't a child that liked to sleep in anymore. After all the early Taillow gets the Wurmple. Tying the laces together, Morgan took a moment to look around the house.

Home. It had been a while since Morgan had been home. It really didn't feel like it anymore. She had been on the road for the better part of two years and now being home was boggling to her. It was comforting that little had changed since she had last been home. Her room was still the same as she had left it when she first set out to try her hand at being a trainer. Eight years seemed to have gone by so fast

Purdy, her mother's Skitty, was meowing to get some attention from Morgan and the girl indulged the Normal-type, even picking her up for a quick cuddle.

"You haven't changed a bit, have you, Purdy. Be sure to guard the house while I am gone, alright?" Morgan set the Skitty down and watched her run into the living room at the same time as her father was walking back into the hallway.

"You ready, sweetie?" Her father, Roger, asked and Morgan jumped up from her spot on the stairs and together they walked out of the door.

* * *

It was a complete chaos at the breeder, Morgan and Roger just smiled as all the young Pokémon were running by like little toddlers on a sugar high. Roger noticed how his daughter's eyes shone as she took in the small Pokémon and them, her.

"Ah, Mister and the youngest Miss Marlow. How great is it to see you again. Miss Marlow, that fight in the Silver conference with that boy…. That boy with the Absol. Right, Taidana Kumo. It was a spectacular battle. That he won the Conference afterward didn't come as a surprise." The owner of the hatchery had come to serve them himself and Roger greeted the man with much enthusiasm.

"Mister Gunther! How have you been?" Morgan bounded up to the old man and gave him a hug. He had often collaborated with her parents to hold mock contests at the hall where people could use the Pokémon bred at the hatchery and often enough all the Pokémon would be adopted at the end of the mock contest.

"You know the way, Miss Marlow, I will see you when you have picked a few of the Pokémon to look at? That should be enough time to get a feel for the youngsters we have at the moment." Gunther shooed her off and she left through the doors to go to the big yard.

"She is going to go straight for one of the Litleo or Growlithe." He said to Roger, who couldn't help but agree.

"She never quite got rid of her love for fire. That Taidana boy sure had to have noticed after her Torkoal set his Sceptile on fire."

The two men chuckled loudly.

* * *

Morgan was in heaven as she looked at all the young Pokémon running around in the yard of the hatchery. Lots of the Pokémon wore colored bands already, signifying that they had been reserved by other trainers already. She was wondering about the Pokémon that she was going to choose today. She remembered the times that she had sat down at the small desk in her room and just wrote out her dreams for the future and what she had hoped to happen while she was traveling.

She snorted loudly as she remembered the stories that she had written where she had been a Dragon-type trainer. She knew better now. They were a bit too temperamental for her taste. During her time away she had found out that she and dragon-types did not go together all that well. She sure had had a lot of ambition when she was younger. League champion, Elite Four member, stopping evil from taking over the world, befriending legendary Pokémon. Big dreams for a little girl just starting out as a trainer. She couldn't deny that it was something she still wanted. Something that she still dreamed about.

"But the Bagon that were headbutting the rocks next to their Salamence mother were to be avoided at all cost. Maybe one of the Electrike, or the Poochyena instead? As she took in the variety of Pokémon that were running havoc, her hand wandered to her belt. The feel of the cool, pristine Moon Balls comforted her as she yearned to fill them up with new Pokémon.

She missed her old Pokémon, but it was time for a new start honestly. She had been traveling with the same team for almost 8 years and they deserved some rest and relaxation for all their hard work. She shook her head and tried to concentrate on the Pokémon in front of her again. It didn't do to dwell on the past.

One of nearby the Litleo had been stalking up to her ever since she had walked into the yard, curious about the girl with vibrant red hair and Morgan just pretended that she hadn't seen the dual type coming closer. As the little cub pounced, Morgan just caught it midair and placed it on her lap.

"Hello, little one. I think you need to have more lessons on how to successfully stalk someone." She booped its nose and it sneezed in response. Morgan laughed as she started to pet the Litleo, careful not to touch the red fur on its head. It wouldn't be hot unless it was angry or wanted to fight, but it didn't hurt to be careful until she knew the Pokémon.

"I see you have met Sarabi's little girl, Miss Marlow?" Gunther suddenly appeared behind her.

"Call me Morgan, Miss Marlow makes me feel so old. Yep, she needs to learn how to make less noise though. I was able to hear her walking up to me. Right?" She smiled over her shoulder to the master breeder before turning back to Litleo.

The Litleo started purring as she reached a hard to reach spot just behind the Litleo's ear.

"What is the info on this little one?" Morgan asked Gunther, who didn't hesitate to whip out a notebook and expertly flipped through the pages.

"Here you go, Miss Morgan, all the info on this little one. It is a shame she hasn't been claimed yet." He smiled knowingly at her and she couldn't help but chuckle.

"You kept her away from everyone when you heard that I was going to come in to get a new Pokémon, didn't you?" She asked. "I have no idea what you are talking about, Miss Morgan," he tried his best to look innocent, but Morgan knew better than that.

She handed the notebook back and just kept petting the little snooze ball that had taken her lap hostage. A few of the other Pokémon did come to investigate Morgan, but none of them were as interested at the Litleo that had been the first. She decided that the Litleo in her lap was the one for her and carefully stood up and walked inside after given the Pokémon the time to say goodbye to her mother. Seeing her father standing in the lobby, annoyed as he held his X-transceiver a full 4 inches away from his ear, had Morgan raising an eyebrow.

"I know, honey, I will be there soon, just need to convince Morgan that she needs to hurry up and pick a Pokémon." Here he glanced at his daughter, who just held up the Litleo that had picked her.

"Couldn't Dave picked out another day to let some of the lights fall down on the stage? No, I understand that the champion is coming to judge the contest and that everything needs to be perfect. We will head straight to the contest hall after we are done here."

"Ah. that explained her father's rather sour face. One of the employees at the contest hall had messed and seeing as mister Champion of Hoenn was going to be there, her mother was in a fit because the stage probably looked like she had trained there with her Sandslash. Morgan wondered if her mother had forgiven her yet for doing that.

"I think I am all finished, to be honest, seems this little one wants to go with me." She offered to her father.

"You still dislike the champion? What was his name again? Wally?"

"You caught me. Wallace, the champion of Hoenn and Master co-ordinator is coming to guest judge the upcoming contest." Her father rolled his eyes and Morgan laughed in response. Her father wasn't the biggest fan of the current champion.

"What exactly did he do that pissed you off again?" She asked, trying to contain her laughter.

"He flooded the waiting rooms at the hall during one of the contests a year ago. He just said it was a hazard of being a water-type trainer." Her father started ranting and Morgan was running out of breath, she was laughing so hard. The Litleo just looked at Morgan and wiggled around so she was facing the laughing Morgan and booped the girl on the nose, causing Morgan to stop laughing and stare at the Pokémon with wide eyes.

"Seems she is just as cheeky as you are." Roger laughed at the baffled face Morgan was making as he paid for Litleo.

"You have a name for the cheeky little bugger yet?" He asked as Morgan finally snapped out of her surprised state and pulled out one of the Moon Balls that he and his wife had gifted their daughter.

"I think I am going to call her Bolero." As she gave the ball a look, she nodded. "Yeah, Bolero."

"Alright, then, time to go and clean up Dave's mess. I might even let you try out Bolero on his ass for upsetting your mother." Roger laughed as Morgan rolled her eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Welcome to chapter 2 of Meet the Team - Morgan!

This chapter features an original character from a dear friend of mine~ I really hope I did him justice. But enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 2: Getting Charged up

Morgan was waiting at the Mistralton Airport for a friend of hers, Tamariel Reimer, that she had met not too long ago with she had been traveling through Johto. Looking at the clock that hung in the lobby of the small airport, it was already a quarter past two. Morgan frowned as she registered the time. Tamariel was running a bit late, but then again it could be that the gym battle with Skyla was going on a bit longer than expected.

Seeing as it was raining, and she didn't bring an umbrella because she was on the way to Alola, Morgan wasn't too keen to wait outside. The only other option, however, was the lobby of the airport. Her Litleo, Bolero, was pretty restless seeing as the lobby wasn't exactly big and she needed to get rid of some of her boundless energy. It wasn't really a good idea to let a Litleo just stick her nose into random things though, so Morgan was trying to keep the little Fire/Normal type entertained by telling her stories. It wasn't working all that well, sadly.

As the doors opened, a tall, dark-haired man came through the door, dripping with rainwater. He looked around for a moment and when he spotted the redhead sitting on the floor wrangling a Litleo that wanted to run and play with other people's shoelaces, he quickly walked over to her.

"Hey, Morgan. The match took longer than expected, sorry for that." He waved as he approached. Morgan gave a smile as she spotted him. "You are looking a little on the busy side. I hope the wait hasn't been boring?"

"Nah, it was fine, Tamariel. It is great to see you again. How are Mortis and Bruce?" She asked as she finally managed to get Bolero under control and she could get up without the Litleo just dashing off into the unknown.

"They are doing well. Mortis is still looking out for me, and Bruce never stops looking for food. You would think I was starving him."

That caused Morgan to laugh, knowing that Tamariel would rather die than deny his Pokémon their food.

"I see you got a new Pokémon with you? Who is this?" He asked, looking at Bolero.

"This little monster with way too much energy is Bolero. I don't really understand where she is getting her energy from though," Morgan smiled and picked up her backpack from under the bench where she has been sitting.

As they exited the airport, they noticed that it had stopped raining and Tamariel sighed.

"It is just my luck that it stops raining after I have already gotten drenched, isn't it?" He asked.

"It is not like you don't get drenched every week or after you decide to train with Bruce. Or has it finally stopped?" Morgan cocked her head to the side.

"He has actually stopped doing it as much," Tamariel smirked as Morgan looked at him like she had been denied her Pecha berries.

* * *

They ended up spending the rest of the day talking about what they had been up to after they went their separate ways.

"So, how are you finding the life of a League Trainer? Is it what you were looking for or not really your thing after all?" Morgan asked as she stirred her drink with the straw. It might have been fall, but it was pretty nice outside.

"It is not as bad as I thought it was, but I don't really think it is the life for me. The constant traveling is wearing me down a bit. I'd rather just be in one spot for an extended period of time." Tamariel responded, trying to make sure his Electrike was staying close. His Houndoom, Mortis, was entertaining Bolero.

"I see. How many badges have you managed to gather so far? Thinking of going to try out the Vertress Conference?" Morgan smiled as she noticed what Mortis had managed to wear out Bolero and the Litleo was now curled up against the much larger Houndoom, completely tuckered out.

"This was my sixth badge. I do want to see if I can get all the badges. Just to see what the big deal about the conferences actually is. I don't really get how you do this year after year and in a new region every year as well." Tamariel sighed, before fiddling with his drink.

"Not really too sure about that either. I guess that I have always dreamed of being a hotshot trainer. One that was able to beat all evil, become part of the Elite Four, Champion. It just feels like it is what I am supposed to be doing." Morgan tried to recall what he had told her about why he went on a journey so late in his life. "Like you didn't go on a journey, because it never attracted you. You were trying to get into the Johto Police Academy, before you went on this journey, right?"

"Yeah, it didn't work out as well as I hoped. My aunt suggested changing my ambitions to becoming a ranger instead of trying to hang on to something that wasn't working out." He nodded at her.

"I have to say that I don't really see you as a policeman. Too much paperwork and hours inside the station cooped up." Morgan shrugged. "Being in nature seems more your thing. Being a ranger would mean that you still get to serve and protect, but it would be mean being out here, feeling the breeze, the sun on your skin, whenever Bruce drenches you."

It had happened often when the now Croconaw was still an excitable Totodile and she just laughed as Tamariel gave her a playful shove.

"He is getting better about it, you know that." Tamariel retorted.

"But I felt that too. The best part of journeying around like this is being out and about." He admitted. The two of them just enjoyed the silence afterward for a bit.

"Well, time to go and look at Chargestone Cave. You mentioned never having been in there before, right?" Tamariel stood up and threw away his cup before whistling loudly to grab the attention of his Electrike and Mortis, signaling that they were going somewhere. Morgan just recalled the tired Bolero, knowing that Tamariel would be able to fend off any wild Pokémon that thought they could attack them.

"Nope, it is supposed to be super pretty, but the last time I ended up having to go around Chargestone Cave because the Pokémon were flipping out about something and it wasn't solved before I already set out to Icirrus City." She pouted as she thought back to her journey through Unova.

"It was pretty amazing, I can tell you that much."

* * *

Morgan was walking around with big eyes as she poked the glowing blue stones and pushed the levitating ones around with just a soft push from her.

Tamariel was telling her all about the area. He was one of those people that liked to know about the areas they would be visiting, citing that knowledge was power, and it meant fewer injuries if you knew what was going on. While Morgan agreed with him, she was too busy boggling at the area to really listen to her friend.

"I have never seen Pokémon that looks like gears, or did we make gears after seeing these Pokémon?" Morgan wondered as she saw some Klink in the distance. The glowing rocks lit up the cave fairly well, so she wasn't having any trouble seeing the Pokémon that were living in Chargestone Cave.

"Probably the second one. That does beg the question as to why they are gears in the first place." Tamariel mused as he tracked a curious Klink with his eyes. Mortis growled softly at the Steel-type and it didn't hang around after spotting the Fire-type that was following the two humans around.

The two trainers wandered a little further in the cave. Thanks to Tamariel's Pokémon they were able to explore undisturbed and they found some gems in the walls of the cave. Tamariel whistled as he saw the gems in Morgan's hands.

"Those gems can amplify the attack power of a Pokémon move from the same type once before they need to recharge for a long time. I have found a Fire, Steel, and Ground gem." He took the time to study the ones she found. "You have found an Ice and Rock gem."

Morgan stashed them away in one of the pockets of her jacket, interested in trying them out when she found some Pokémon that and wanted to join her team, and had moves that would benefit from them.

As Morgan stood back up, she spotted something yellow on Tamariel's Electrike. Beckoning it to her, she took a second and then plucked a small yellow Pokémon right of the Electrike's back.

"Well, hello there." She cooed at the extremely tiny Pokémon. "What are kind of Pokémon are you? You look like a little bug Pokémon, but I have a feeling you are an Electric-type instead."

"He is actually both. What you are currently cuddling in your hands is a Joltik. It is a pretty harmless Pokémon. They ride on larger Pokémon to gather their static I think because they can't generate it on their own. They are a bit too small to do that." Tamariel explained and Morgan nodded. "However, I have read stories of them absorbing the electricity from bigger Electric-types and even from batteries."

"You are so soft." She used two fingers to softly stroke the back of the Joltik and Tamariel could just see the little spider melt in the girl's hands. He could see her come to a decision and wasn't surprised by what she did.

"You can ride with me for a while then. Just don't try to suck up Electrike's electricity, alright?" She placed the Joltik on her shoulder and it quickly skittered up the side of her head to perch on her hair, contrasting brightly with her red hair. It cased Morgan to start giggling as she was a bit ticklish.

"You are such a softy." He grinned and moved out of the way of her playful slap.

"I am not." She huffed, before laughing.

She and Tamariel continued to explore the cave, trying to find more of the gems. The Joltik was happy to help Morgan by lighting up the cave whenever it was needed.

After a few hours, they had returned to the entrance of the cave and the Joltik hadn't left yet. Tamariel gave a knowing grin as Morgan raised one of the empty Moon Balls that were on her belt and the Joltik tapped on the button without hesitation.

"What are you going to call Joltik?" Tamariel asked.

"Prelude. To keep with the musical theme." Morgan replied as she let the Joltik out again.

She spent another day in Unova before boarding the plane that would take her to Alola, where she would be spending a few weeks on vacation before returning to Hoenn where she was going to take the League challenge once again.


	3. Chapter 3

Yay, chapter three! Thanks to everyone that is still reading by this point. This chapter features another OC from another friend of mine.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 3: Time to Start Working

* * *

Morgan had severely underestimated how hot it would be in Alola. Seriously, she came from Hoenn, which was considered a tropical paradise by people, but this region was taking the cake. At least Bolero was having a blast, playing with some of the wild Rockruff on Route 1.

Prelude was like always planted on the top of her head, his favorite spot ever since she had met him. At first, she had gotten freaked out when he would move around, but in time she had managed to get used to it. Now that she was wearing an oversized beach hat to protect her rather fair skin, she couldn't even feel him skittering around.

It was good to feel the sea breeze. The soft scent of the seawater reminded her of home, but it somehow felt purer. The sand between her toes was finer than what the beaches at home consisted off. It was like Alola existed solely to show up her home region. The people were all so friendly and happy. It was so peaceful.

Well, aside from the local professor. Morgan had quickly learned that Professor Kukui liked to have Pokémon test their moves on him. Supposedly for research, but she was wondering if there were other motives behind that.

Rolling her eyes as the ruckus started yet again, seriously, that was the fourth time in two days, Morgan leaned back on the towel she had spread out on the soft white sand. Prelude made some noises as Morgan prepared to take a nap and shoved her hat forward so it would cover her face better.

For while there was nothing to be heard aside from the sounds of Bolero growling, the Rockruff's yipping and the screams from Professor Kukui. It was pretty nice actually. Bolero and one of her playmates had plopped down next to her, eaten all the berries Morgan had laid out for Prelude and Bolero to snack on and had promptly drifted asleep.

As she relaxed more, she slowly lost track of time. The sun had started its descent into the sea when she became are of a pair of black boots next to her. Lifting up the wide brim if her hat, she saw a girl with a camera squatting in the sand. It seemed she was pretty focused on something that was near Morgan's head.

"Can I help you with something?" Morgan asked and watched as the girl almost jumped in the air from the shock.

"I'm… I am so sorry. I didn't mean to…" The girl stammered as she flushed red.

Morgan raised an eyebrow at the girl but patiently waited for an explanation.

"I wanted to take a photograph of the Joltik on your head… It has been a while since I have seen one. And they are so cute." The girl's voice trailed off as she spoke. The camera was being clutched rather tightly between her rather slim hands and the flush had gotten deeper. The girl wasn't meeting Morgan's gaze, preferring to stare at the sand instead.

"Is that all? I wouldn't have minded it if you asked me. My name is Morgan and Joltik's name is Prelude. My Litleo Bolero is sleeping over there." Morgan said gently as she introduced herself and her small team to the girl. The girl slowly raised her head to look at Morgan as if to gauge her intentions.

Morgan just raised her hand and plucked Prelude of her hat and held him out to the girl. The girl lit up and Morgan couldn't help but notice that she had very unusual pink eyes. And probably even weirder, the girl was wearing long black pants and a short-sleeved dark brown shirt that matched her hair. Her outfit was beautifully accented with soft pink though. Morgan just chalked it up to personal preference.

"He is pretty." The girl said as she tentatively reached out to pet the small Bug-type. Prelude leaned into the touch of the girl, who then seemed to realize that she hadn't introduced herself yet.

"My name is Bailey. I am a Pokémon photographer. My favorite subjects are Bug-type Pokémon." She quickly rushed out before thrusting out a hand as a greeting.

"Nice to meet you, Bailey." Morgan shook the offered hand with a laugh and Bailey seemed to relax a bit.

"You are a photographer? Have you published pictures yet?" Morgan asked as she sat up properly on her towel.

"Yeah, actually I have." Bailey dug around in the small backpack that she was carrying around and pulled out a magazine. She flipped through the pages and eventually handed it over to Morgan, who placed Prelude back on her hat where he promptly took a nap.

The pictures were of amazing quality and Morgan marveled at the diversity of Bug-types that Bailey has managed to capture on film. Suddenly, her eyes spotted a very familiar picture. She had noticed the same picture hanging in the lobby of the Lilycove Contest Hall a few days earlier but under a very different name.

It was a picture of a Plant Cloaked Burmy that had been still covered in the morning dew. The gentle rays of the sun gave it a slight sparkling effect.

"You are Beetle? The famous Bug-type photographer?" Morgan asked as she looked at the text for the first time.

"I don't really know about being famous," Bailey demurred. There was a small smile playing on the girl's lips though, so Morgan assumed that the other girl was pleased to hear it.

"We have one of your pictures hanging in the Contest Hall. It is probably the one piece of art that we have that people have not stopped commenting on so far." Morgan revealed, smiling as Bailey's face flushed red again.

"So are you hear to photograph the Charjabug or the Cutiefly? Morgan asked to distract the other girl.

"I managed to get pictures of them both already." Bailey shook her head. "I am here for the annual Flight of the Butterfree."

"The Butterfree Flight? Is that like the Beautifly Migration?" Morgan asked, thinking back to the time of the year that all the Beautifly would gather together and make a long flight, heading to other regions.

"Something like that, yes!" Bailey's pink eyes had started sparkling as they talked more and more about Bug-types. "I love butterfly Pokémon and I want to take a picture of every type of Vivillon during my career, I have managed to find eight different patterns so far. Oh, they are so beautiful."

It was interesting to see how quickly Bailey had shed her shyness when she was able to talk about Bug-types.

"You have one yourself?" Morgan as she noticed that Bolero and her friend had woken up. The Litleo wanted attention and crawled on her lap. The Rockruff wasn't about to lose his playmate and wriggled his way next to Bolero.

"You said that the Litleo was yours, but…" Bailey looked at the two Pokémon settled on Morgan's lap.

"The Rockruff is not mine," Morgan replied, a bit unsure as to what she should be doing about the situation, in the end, she decided to ignore them and just carried on talking.

In the end, Bailey ended up inviting Morgan to come watch the Flight of the Butterfree in the crater of Ten Carat Hill, where the view was supposed to be amazing. At least, Bailey had heard that the Farthest Hollow was the best spot to take pictures from as it was a bit higher than the rest of the island.

Even as Morgan put away her stuff and recalled Bolero and Prelude, Bolero's Rockruff playmate wasn't leaving and trailed behind the two girls as they ventured into Ten Carat Hill. The Rockruff was running around their feet and scaring away the Sableye that were lurking in the shadows. After clambering over a lot of big stones that were obstructing the way, the girls reached the Farthest Hollow.

Bailey immediately started setting up in the middle of the big clearing. While Morgan started to look around. The Rockruff went with her wherever she went, and Morgan had an inkling that she wasn't going to get rid of the Rock-type anytime soon, besides he was growing on her.

The sun had gone down while the two girls were in Ten Carat Hill and Morgan could see the full moon edging its way above the Hollow. Bailey was adjusting the camera and checking the quality with her own Butterfree and Vivillon. The majority of the Vivillon's wings were a gorgeous dark blue with some white dotted in the blue and Bailey nodded enthusiastically when Morgan mentioned it to her. It was apparently a Polar Patterned Vivillon and it had cost Bailey some time to find one.

"Alright! Now we only have to wait. The practice shots look great." Bailey announced as she clapped her hands. "That motion detector was a great addition to my gear."

"How late did the locals say that the flight would be starting?" Morgan asked as she stared at the night sky. It was a clear night, and the stars were twinkling brightly.

"In ten minutes or so give or take, then we need to take into account distance to the Melemele Meadow and the speed that the Butterfree will be flying at, I would say that we are going to see the first few Butterfree appear in around 20 minutes?" Bailey calculated quickly.

Morgan raised her eyebrow at the way Bailey so effortlessly managed to calculate when they would be seeing the Butterfree coming up.

"I studied them quite a bit." Bailey flushed again and was poking her fingertips together.

"I was just amazed that you are able to do that, Beetle. I always had a bit of a problem with math that didn't related to either money or battles," Morgan quickly said. "More like I had a problem paying attention because it was boring."

Bailey gave Morgan a shy smile and the redhead just realized what she had called Bailey. Scooping the Rockruff from the ground, she buried her face in the fur to hide her own flushed face.

"It is alright, I don't mind," Bailey whispered, a smile gracing her face. Then the two heard something and Morgan grabbed Bailey's hand, dragging her to a higher ledge, one that the Rockruff in her arms had shown her.

Bailey cried out as she saw the first Butterfree appear above the edge of the Hollow and together the girls and the Rockruff watched the Flight of the Butterfree above their heads.

Early the next morning, when Bailey was preparing to leave for Akala to look for a few Dewpiders there, the Rockruff still hadn't left Morgan's side. It didn't take long afterward for Nocturne the Rockruff to join the team officially.


	4. Chapter 4

Silvia is an OC that belongs to a dear friend of mine! Enjoy the story~

* * *

Chapter 4: Step for Step

* * *

Morgan was having a blast riding the Mantine to Akala Island. She had never expected to be even remotely good at surfing on the back of a Mantine, but here she was not having fallen down in the water yet. Prelude had insisted on staying outside his Moon ball and was now clutching onto her hair, making noises of excitement.

Morgan grinned as she steered the Mantine up the wave in preparation for doing some of the tricks the people in charge had taught her before they had let her go on her little trip to Akala from Melemele. She whooped loudly as the Mantine landed smoothly back into the water causing some of the other surfers to yell words of encouragement at her.

It had seemed so hard the first time she had seen the surfers leave from the beach at Melemele and now it felt natural for her to surf around on the back of the Water/Flying type. Maybe she should introduce this back in Hoenn?

She smiled as one of the other surfers went up and did some of the harder tricks. This certainly beat taking the ferry to visit the different islands. Seeing Akala come closer was somehow more special as she heard the other yell "Land ahoy" and make other stupid jokes.

Despite how much fun she had while surfing, Morgan was glad that she was back on land again. After giving back the rental stuff, the female trainer had quickly vacated the beach in order to find the nearest Pokémon center. She wanted to rest up after it before trying to make her way to Paniola Town. It was said that wild Eevee made their home on Route 4 and Morgan had a long cherished dream to one day add one of them to her team.

When she was little she had seen a coordinator in the Lilycove Contest Hall compete with a Leafeon and she had been surprised by the grace the Eeveelution had eluded while on the stage. When she had seen what a punch the Pokémon packed, she had been sold on the idea. She didn't want one of the Eevee bred by a breeding center though, not even Mister Gunther's one. Those Eevee always seemed to be more fit for the life as pets or the occasional stint as a Contest Pokémon.

As she walked into the Pokémon Center of Heahea City, she spotted a very familiar blue Pokémon. While she wasn't entirely sure that it indeed was the Pokémon she was thinking of, Morgan knelt on the floor. Because if it was who she thought it was, he would try to bowl her over.

"Cosmo," She called out, her voice taking on a slightly higher pitch that caused the Pokémon to look at her. The next moment her back was on the floor and Prelude was squeaking indignantly as Cosmo was rubbing his cheek against Morgan.

"Is Silvia close by?" Morgan asked after the Sylveon had decided that she had been loved enough for the moment.

"Yes, I am." A hand with a blue Pokétch fastened around the wrist appeared in front of her face and Morgan gladly clasped the outstretched hand, allowing the woman to pull her upright.

Morgan looked up to smiling pink eyes, framed by blue hair in an elaborate but somehow casual updo.

"Silvia! I haven't seen you in forever! Oh, I missed you so much. How have you been?" Morgan said before she was pulled in a hug by the flamboyantly dressed woman. Cosmo jumped around excited to see the two friends being reunited.

"I missed you too. I can't believe it has been a year already since we last saw each other in Sinnoh. I have been good, branched out a little bit more in my repertoire and Pokémon choices. It is good to see you again, Morgan. How have you been? I see you have some new Pokémon?" Silvia rapidly fired off her questions, as she let go of the younger girl.

"I placed top 4 in the last conference that I participated." Morgan posed with a victory sign at this before she asked the rest of the questions. "I do have some new Pokémon actually, I thought that it was time to make a completely new start, go on vacation and after that tackle the Hoenn League again."

"Oh that sounds wonderful," Silvia exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "I was thinking of taking on the Hoenn Contest Circuit this year, so we might be seeing each other a bit more then!"

She cocked her head to the side as she took in Morgan, whose red hair was windswept and her teal eyes were bright and open. Silvia laughed as she smelt the ocean on her friend.

"You didn't take the ferry to Akala, didn't you?"

"Nope, I went Mantine surfing. It was amazing. I had no idea that it was even a possibility." Morgan was basically vibrating with excitement causing Silvia to laugh. Her musical laugh caused a few of the other visitors of the Pokémon Center to look at the two girls and while Morgan wasn't all that used to the attention, Silvia just smiled and winked.

* * *

"So you want an Eevee for your team and seeing as you heard that wild Eevee roam around on Route 4, I am being dragged into an expedition to find one with you," Silvia stated more than asked and was rewarded with a Mareepish smile from Morgan, who had just released Bolero and Nocturne to help with the search for an Eevee.

"Uh, yeah. You have Cosmo, so I thought you would have some tips on how to lure them out into the open." Morgan was busy looking around the path to see if she could spot some brown or cream colors between all the bright green colors and wasn't watching Silvia shake her head.

"You know that I got Cosmo from an egg that was given to me, right?" Silvia asked teasingly. "You are lucky that I wanted to go to the Lush Jungle to find a Comfey so I had to head this way anyway."

"I might have forgotten about that little fact, maybe, probably…" Morgan scratched her head as she was reminded that the shiny Sylveon had in fact not come from the wild, but was a bred one.

"Figured." The older woman had a fond expression on face as she followed Morgan around on Route 4. It wasn't like she had anywhere else to be today. She had no requests, the Contest season wouldn't start for another month, and she had just been reunited with one of her dearest friends. One that understood the burden of an unwanted legacy.

Morgan had always been the odd one out in her family, not wanting to go into the contest world, and had fought to establish herself as Morgan Marlow, the trainer. To be anything else than Morgan Marlow, the daughter of contest legends. Her parents had not agreed with her choice, but Morgan had never let it get her down.

Neither had Silvia, who hailed from Celestic Town in Sinnoh. A traditional town who had frowned upon her wish to become a coordinator. Or at least her family had. And they still did. Still, Silvia had put a smile on her face and steamed right on through with her ambitions and dreams. It had worked out so far. Shaking her head from those rather depressing thoughts, Silvia joined her friend in looking for an Eevee.

Just as they were about to give up, Bolero and Nocturne suddenly rushed out of the bushes herding a gray furball in front of them. It took Morgan and Silvia about three seconds to register that the Eevee that the Litleo and Rockruff were chasing was a shiny and both of them immediately sprung into action. Morgan flung Prelude, who had been lounging on Morgan's head like always, through the air, right on the back of the feeling furball and Silvia commanded Cosmo to block the way so it couldn't flee.

"Prelude, use Stringshot," Morgan commanded as she ran to stay in range. The Joltik reacted quickly and shot the string of web right in front of the Normal-type, who quickly tripped over it. Prelude then jumped on the back of Nocturne as the Rockruff raced past the Eevee. Both of them then returned to stand at their trainer's side.

Morgan quickly praised them before she told Bolero to stand at the ready to fight the Eevee. It hadn't taken the Normal-type long to free itself from its predicament and it was growling loudly at the Litleo in front of it.

"Bolero, Noble Roar and then Headbutt it," Morgan instructed and Bolero to a deep breath before letting out the cutest little roar that Silvia had ever heard. It served its purpose though as the Eevee cringed a bit and was just a bit too slow to avoid the incoming Headbutt. It used a Tackle at try and get the Litleo away from him, but Bolero was stronger and forced it back. The Eevee flinched a bit as the fur on Bolero's head started to head up, but it held its ground as best as it could.

"Now use Ember!"

Bolero jumped back just enough that the Eevee faltered when the Litleo abandoned the headlock they had been in and spewed out a small flame. The Eevee whimpered as it got hit with the Ember and then it fell silent.

Morgan didn't waste a second and a Moon Ball was sailing through the air before the Eevee even hit the ground. Three small shakes later, Morgan was the new trainer of an Eevee.

Silvia high fived the other girl and grinned as Morgan picked up the Moon Ball from the ground. She praised Bolero, who was walking around with a puffed up chest, proud of herself, before she recalled her and the other two, wanting them to rest for a while.

"I can't believe that we found a shiny Eevee and that you flung your Joltik at it in order to get it to stop running." Silvia giggled softly.

"Prelude was fine with it." Morgan mock huffed before she too started giggling.

"I think Minuet will be a fine addition to the team. I just hope the fact he is so differently colored won't attract much attention." Morgan muttered as she raised the Moon Ball up to look at it.

"Knowing how much people admire and stare at Cosmo, I am pretty sure that it is a hopeless case. Right, Cosmo, you beautiful creature?" Silvia asked the Eeveelution who preened in response.

Cosmo was prancing next to the happy girls as they made the rest of the journey to Paniola Town.


	5. Chapter 5

Author Note: I quite dislike the normal shiny coloration for Leafeon, so I am using the popular idea of a fall/autumn Leafeon as the shiny instead, colored red and orange while keeping the tan body. Look up the Autumn Leafeon piece by awnii on DA for an exact vision of how I imagine them.

* * *

Chapter 5: Nearly There

* * *

Silvia had stayed for a few more days after she had caught her Comfey, who had been called Bean, in the Lush Jungle a few days after Morgan had caught her Eevee, Minuet. It had been Silvia that pointed out the Moss Rock deep in the Jungle. It would allow Minuet to evolve if he so wished. Both of the girls had noticed that the shiny Eevee loved plants and flower, hinting that Minuet might want to evolve into a Leafeon.

When Morgan had told him that he could evolve in a Leafeon, he had jumped at the chance. Minuet had just pressed his nose against the rock and a moment later he had been enveloped by a bright white light. When it faded, a Leafeon stood in his place, clad in the colors of autumn, matching his trainer's copper red hair.

Silvia had laughed loudly as she had pointed out that they matched. That was until Morgan just pointed out that Silvia matched her own Shiny Eeveelution in looks, and at least Morgan's hair color was natural.

It had been super fun to see the small furball walking around with its new longer legs and trip over even the smallest stuff or lift his legs so high that he was way over it. It had taken a while, some training, and Cosmo's instructions for Minuet to learn how to use his new height and long legs.

Morgan had even convinced Silvia to go Mantine surfing with her. It hadn't been a complete success but they had a lot of fun riding the waves and seeing the other crash into the water.

Then the day of their parting had come. Morgan and Silvia had been reluctant to say their goodbyes, but the contest circuit started earlier than the League season, so Silvia was off to get an early start. Morgan had not moped around and instead had prepared to go to her new destination.

Seeing as she had only wasted four of the six weeks between the end of the Johto League and the start of the Hoenn League season so far, she decided that a trip to Ula'Ula was something that she could easily afford to do.

Once again, she didn't take the ferry but jumped at the chance to surf with the Mantine to the new island. Instead of just surfing all the time and working on her tan, Morgan took the chance to visit Malie City. She was awed by the Garden and just adored the peaceful atmosphere. But the thing she had been the most interested in was the library that Malie City had.

She spent a few afternoons in the library just browsing through the books when she found a copy of a book that she had been looking for for ages but never been able to find. Which was weird seeing as it was a book about the legendary Pokémon of Hoenn.

She gave a small cry of happiness and tried to reach for it. She just came just about an inch short though and she huffed in frustration. She looked around to see if she could find a step stool to take the book from the shelf when a hand dangled the book in her vision.

"I took the liberty to grab the book from the shelf for you, it would be a shame if it had been picked out by someone else, mademoiselle."

Morgan blinked as she tried to register the appearance of the person that was offering her the book that she had been looking for. Was he wearing a musketeer hat?

"Um, thank you." Morgan took the book from the person gently. The book was probably over 50 years old after all and she didn't feel like paying a fine for damaging it on accident.

"You are studying Hoenn's Legendary Pokémon? An interesting thing to be learning about while you are on vacation in Alola." The man remarked.

Morgan agreed. "It is a hobby of mine and I can only Mantine surf for so long until I start to get sunburned."

"My name is Noël Donadieu. I am from Kalos." The stranger finally introduced himself.

"Morgan Marlow, Hoenn Native. And yes, I know I am super pale for someone that was born in a tropical region." Morgan said.

"Didn't even cross my mind." Noël gave a charming smile as he followed her around to one of the reading spots.

Morgan looked at him weirdly, causing him to explain why he was following her.

"You said that you study the Legendary Pokémon of Hoenn. I was wondering what you know about Jirachi."

"The Wishmaker? Not all too much. Jirachi has been spotted only once or twice and only when there was a meteor shower beforehand. It is said to grant any wish you make, but that is all I know about it. Information on Jirachi is rather scarce as it has not posed a real threat to Hoenn in the past." Morgan shrugged.

"The ones that might know are the Hoenn Gym Leaders though. They have archives with older manuscripts. Sootopolis or Mossdeep might be your best bet. Maybe even Fallarbor Town." She had been flipping through the pages of the book, trying to see if there was any new information on Jirachi in it, but it didn't seem to be the case. She did find a rather nice sketch of the Pokémon and showed it to Noël.

"I see, thank you." He sighed in disappointment. "Guess I need to head to Hoenn."

"Maybe I will see you around then. The League season starts in a week and a half, so if you fly out around now you will have a few days to adjust. Rustboro Gym is the best place to start." Morgan gave him a sad smile. "If I find out any concrete information, I could let you know."

Noël and she exchanged phone numbers before the man left her to her book.

* * *

It was certainly colder than she had expected. Morgan shivered as she held Bolero closer to her. Her Litleo was the only one out of their Moon Balls as Minuet and Prelude had just refused to wander around in the cold and Nocturne had been chasing a lot of the local wild Pokémon and trying to challenge them. Something that Morgan didn't think was smart at that moment. After Moël had left her alone in the library, she had stumbled on a piece of information that Rayquaza had once been spotted in the sky of Alola, from Mt. Lanakila.

One of the Draconid people had made Ula'ula his home and had called upon Rayquaza to help guard the islands against a meteor that threatened to eradicate the island. There supposedly was a shrine to Rayquaza on top of the mountain made by the Draconid people.

The inside was somehow a bit warmer and Morgan looked in awe at the walls as they softly glittered in the light of the torches that were mounted on them. She was a bit surprised by the low number of trainers that were currently traveling through the caves. She quickly counted out the League schedule of this year and she realized that Alola's conference had finished two weeks ago.

Huh, she had been really busy if she had forgotten about that. Researching could really take all her attention. She mused about the end of the Sinnoh League later that week when she received something cold to the back of her head. Morgan quickly checked what it was, but all she found was a wet patch on her hair. She shrugged it off. It was probably the ceiling that had melted a little. While the mountain was pretty cold, it was summer in an already tropical place. If Morgan didn't know any better, she would have said it was a heat wave.

Spotting the exit, she and Bolero took it and breathed in the cold crisp air. The Litleo mewled as she saw the sun high in the air, the rays just warming her and Morgan a bit.

"It is not far to the Pokémon, girl. We will take the gondola lift back down tomorrow." Morgan told the Fire-type and received a purr in return. Shaking her head, Morgan headed down the path, only to receive another cold splat to the back of her head. She whirled around immediately but could spot nothing but snow lying around.

"Alright, girl, time to take a look around and see if we can find someone that is being a bit on the naughty side today," Morgan whispered to her Pokémon.

Bolero jumped down from her trainer's arms and started scenting the air. Noticing something, the Litleo quickly rushed off, followed by Morgan, who kept up with ease.

A small pile of snow. That is what Bolero had found. Morgan raised an eyebrow at Bolero, who just started digging. Then Morgan spotted the small pile moving. Just barely. Was there a Pokémon under it? She quickly knelt and helped Bolero with uncovering what was buried underneath the snow.

It was a Pokémon. White and the lightest of blue. Small curls on a vulpine head and six tails. It looked like a Vulpix, but why was white? Shiny Vulpix were golden. Resisting the urge to slap her forehead, she recalled the locals telling her of Pokémon that were different from the Pokémon she was accustomed to in the other regions. Regional variants. And this was probably a Vulpix, only the Alolan Variant of it. And from the looks of it, this was an Ice-type Pokémon.

But why was it looking so bad? Morgan reached out a hand and was easily able to touch it. It was still breathing, but it had a fever, which was really bad for Ice-type Pokémon.

Morgan cursed loudly as she realized the severity of the situation and just scooped up the little thing, tucking it against her. It wasn't resisting being moved as at all. It wasn't possible that this Vulpix had been the one that been hitting her, but maybe the one that did had wanted her to find this little one in need of help.

Bolero quickly jumped on Morgan's shoulder, needing no encouragement from her trainer to do so.

"I will take care of this little one," Morgan said softly before she stood up and ran to the cave entrance that she knew to lead to the Mt. Lanakila Pokémon Center.

* * *

"So, she is going to be okay?" Morgan asked Nurse Joy as they stood next to a bed that held the smaller than normal Vulpix. The little snowy fox was sleeping a bit easier now and Morgan had been relieved to see it. Nocturne was curled around the Vulpix, not in the least bothered by the slight chill that the Vulpix was giving off.

"You made it just time, her fever was very high, but she will make a full recovery. I am worried though about sending her back unto the mountain, she is a bit on the small side to be out and about." Nurse Joy mused as she checked over the Vulpix again.

"She must have been barely old enough to be on her own," Morgan muttered as she took the chair by the side of the bed. She had already made up her mind to offer the Vulpix a place on her team.

The next day, Morgan found the little shrine of Rayquaza, Serenade the Alolan Vulpix safely in her arms.


	6. Chapter 6

This chapter marks the end of Meet the Team - Morgan. This story was an attempt to write a prequel to a larger story and to get into one of the main characters from the larger story. And I like to think I did a good job.

Like with the last 4 chapters it contains an OC from a friend of mine, all of them will be making their reappearance in Delta Emerald!

* * *

Chapter 6: The Beginning of a New Adventure

* * *

Morgan's heart beat faster as she spotted the landmass down below. She was almost back in Hoenn, ready to start her new journey, her new adventure. Would this be the year in which she would finally take home the League Victory and be able to challenge the Elite Four?

Her vacation to Alola had been a welcome distraction and had allowed Morgan to regather herself after losing in the Silver Conference. It had been the closest she had ever been to winning a League conference and the loss had hit her hard after the battle had ended. That she had lost against the eventual winner of the League, had soothed her hurt ego a bit.

Morgan leaned against the window, watching as the land was growing bigger by the second. As her fingers brushed over the cool metal of the still new feeling Moon Balls that were hanging from her Trainer Belt. Her old Pokémon had been with her for more than 7 years and it was time for them to retire and have some peace and quiet. Or as much peace and quiet as they could get while staying at Professor Birch's lab.

Her current team was looking good, and she grinned as she knew that she had a few Pokémon on her belt that would confuse the heck out of people. Like Serenade, who was an Alolan Vulpix. Serenade was an Ice-type, not a Fire-type, and it could give her a split second of inaction for her to take advantage off. Morgan mused a bit more as the plane touched down on the runway and she was finally back in Hoenn.

She was surprised that she had missed the region as much as she had the past few weeks. She had been away for longer and not really felt homesick. Maybe it was the fact that Alola felt a bit familiar with the way people acted and the weather was very similar to Hoenn. Both were tropical after all.

It took less than an hour before Morgan was outside of the airport after she had disembarked from the plane. Petalburg Airport was a pretty big and well-used travel hub, so Morgan didn't feel like hanging around. She just had Bolero out for the day, the little cub Pokémon was clinging to her shoulder as Morgan toured the city.

As she walked around Petalburg, she couldn't help but take note of the things that had changed since she had been here last. Seeing as the last time she had traveled around Hoenn had been eight years ago, a lot had changed.

Including the Gym leader. It seemed that the previous Gym Leader, Layne, had retired.

Morgan frowned as she stared at the announcement in the Pokémon Center. A new Gym Leader was to be arriving in the near future from Johto, and the Gym was going to be closed for at least another few weeks. Time to rework her schedule then.

She still could go out to Route 102 to catch a Ralts. Hopefully a male on at that. Pulling out her map, she quickly made a route and decided that after she beat or visited the Dewford Gym, depending on the outcome of that particular battle.

"Hey, red, long time no see." A voice startled Morgan out of her thoughts and she blinked twice as her gaze locked on the person talking to her.

"Taidana Kumo. To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you here in Petalburg?" She mumbled. Morgan raised an eyebrow at him. Was he also going to be taking on the Hoenn League? Seeing his Absol next to him brought back some memories of the fight. That thing was vicious on the best days while fighting. It did seem that Taidana had good control over her and Morgan just focused on the trainer.

"I am heading out to Sinnoh this season, red. No need to worry about little old me stealing your thunder this time." He chuckled. Seeing her wary face, he quickly explained. "Your face said it all."

"I see. You headed out to Sinnoh today then?" She inquired politely.

"In a few days." He answered. "I have some business to attend to before that."

Morgan didn't think that he would be any more forthcoming with information, so she was prepared to say her goodbyes when he challenged her to a battle.

"A battle? Why?" She asked, thrown off guard.

"I have some time left before I had to head out and the battle we had was one of the best I have had in a long time. I am sure Sceptile and Absol would love to fight against Bubbles again." He grinned.

Morgan groaned. The name for her Swampert had been a good idea at the time, but right now she just wished she had called her starter something like Tide or Maelstrom. She bit her lip before she answered Taidana's battle request.

"Yeah, about that. I decided to start fresh and the Pokémon I used before are now lounging at Professor Birch's place." Morgan revealed. Bolero mewled and Morgan automatically raised her hand to pet the cub.

"As you can see these Pokémon are not up to par just yet with Pokémon that are used in League Conferences. Let alone those that have won one." She said. Realizing that she was still holding her map in her hands and busied herself with putting it away.

"Can happen, but you will owe me a battle for when they are up to par." He rummaged around in his pocket and pulled out a small slip of paper. After scribbling on it, he gave it to Morgan.

"Your phone number? Are you serious?" She asked. She did, however, enter it in her PokéNav.

"Yep, call me after the conferences and we will schedule a battle." Taidana nodded. He hoisted his bag up over his shoulder.

"Wait, you said that you were heading out to Sinnoh, not that you were going to challenge the League?" Morgan probed gently.

"I am not really sure about that yet. Winning the League, was not exactly as I expected." She received a rare smiled from the male trainer before he turned around and with a wave left the Pokémon Center. His Absol faithfully trailing after him.

"Not exactly as he expected it to be?" Morgan wondered softly. "What could he mean by that?"

She was brought back from her musings by Bolero and she went up to the counter to get a room for a few days. She was tired from traveling and a day to rest sounded wonderful to her ears.

* * *

The next day she was up bright and early to try and find a Ralts to add to her team. Luck was not on her side though. Knowing that they were rare, and experiencing it for herself, were two completely different things.

She had been so incredibly lucky to find that Eevee in Alola so quickly with Silvia. According to the locals they were just as rare as the Ralts here, but she had managed to find one under an hour and a shiny one at that.

She felt super silly to be walking up and down the route just trying to spot one of the little Psychic/Fairy-types. She had her team out to help look but they didn't have any luck either.

Morgan was on the verge of just giving up. Sitting on one of the rocks in the tree line, she took a break. It had been two days and she hadn't managed to find a single Ralts. She kept an eye on Nocturne who had grown a bit more aggressive in the past few days, Morgan suspected that he was on the edge of evolving.

Minuet was still able to keep the Rockruff under control, but Morgan didn't think it would be a long time for Nocturne to stand on even standing with the Leafeon.

Serenade, the little sweetheart, was just exploring with Prelude perched on the fluffy curls on her head, They made sure to stay in Morgan's field of vision and the trainer just let them go.

She slid off the rock so she could lean back against it. She just closed her eyes for a bit to think about what she was going to do. She could spend another few days looking for a Ralts that potentially wouldn't even show its face, or move on and go to Rustboro to challenge the gym there. Moving on would probably be the best move.

Hearing noises, Morgan opened her eyes and looked straight into the face of a Ralts. It was standing on the rock that she was leaning against. Looking at her.

"Nocturne." She whispered just loud enough for the Rockruff to notice it and turn to his trainer.

"Bite it." She said, pointing at the Ralts that was studying her.

Nocturne stopped roughhousing with Minuet and rushed to the Ralts, eager to fight. Morgan angled her leg so that he could use her leg as a ramp to jump off and when he did so, Morgan was up on her feet in a flash, whirling around to see what was happening.

The Ralts was teleporting around to avoid Nocturne's teeth, and it seemed to be giggling to itself. It angered Nocturne and the Rockruff's movements become a bit more erratic in response.

"Nocturne, use Sand Attack and then Rock Tomb, make sure that Ralts will be having trouble predicting save spots to teleport to," Morgan ordered in a firmer voice than usual

The Rockruff calmed down a bit when he heard his trainer's voice. Spotting the Ralts standing still for just a slight moment, presumably to send its own attacks at Nocturne, he turned around and kicked some sand at the Ralts, hitting it right in the face. The Ralts cried out and tried to wipe the sand out of its face. Then Nocturne hurled rocks at the Dual-type, each rock closer to the Ralts then the one before. The Ralts was scratched by one and then hit full force by the next, even as it tried to teleport out of the way.

Morgan unclipped the last Moon Ball on her belt and threw it at the Ralts the moment that Nocturne let up his barrage of rocks.

When the Ralts didn't pop back out of the ball, Morgan gave a sigh of relief. She had truly spent too much time trying to find and capture a Ralts and now she finally had one.

And she had a Lycanroc. She had noticed Nocturne starting to glow after she had caught the Ralts, and had been patiently waiting for the evolution to be finished. Minuet and Bolero had stalked over as the evolution happened and pounced on Nocturne the moment that he finished evolving.

Serenade had walked over to Morgan to see what had happened and Prelude was still perched happily on the snowy fox's back. They didn't really like the roughhousing as much as the other three did.

The soft tan color of the fur told Morgan that Nocturne had evolved in a Midday Lycanroc. Her favorite of the three forms. She quickly hugged him when he bounded up for a pat or two, before letting him go roughhousing with Bolero and Minuet again.

"Well, guys," she released Ralts from his new Moon Ball as she called her Pokémon together. "I think we are ready for this journey now. Requiem, welcome to the team."


End file.
